December 2005 // Research & Results

Lived values: a study into the change in values among young target groups.

A job market in crisis, PISA, and 9/11 ? the profound social changes of recent years have not failed to leave their mark on young people and young adults either. The rebellious mentality of earlier generations seems passé, and the trend is towards a security and achievement orientation. Young people today are taking a fundamentally pragmatic approach to social change. They don?t necessarily see new and old values as being contradictory, and, instead, live them out ?in parallel? on a variety of planes. However, clear differences between various target groups become apparent when dealing with this change in values. GIM argo has investigated the development and its impact on the lifestyle and consumer behaviour of young target groups, and distinguishes here between Neo-traditional Profilers, Egocentric Bons Vivants, and Critical & Creative Trendsetters.

The change in values in these target groups can only be comprehended given a differentiated understanding of target groups. Although changes at the level of values principally affect everyone, how one deals with them on a daily basis depends on typical basic patterns. In order for values to be interpreted in a way that can lead to relevant action, they must be viewed in the context in which they are actually lived. It is thus especially important for companies operating in the dynamic field of young consumers to not just keep an eye on current trends, but also to deliberately aim marketing measures at the context-specific connotations of these changes within the relevant target groups.

You can find the article here in PDF format:

+ R&R Gelebte Werte.pdf (1,95 MB)